Author's posts
What Might an EPA Under Scott Pruitt Bring?
Donald Trump supporters and environmentalists alike have a good idea of what Scott Pruitt will do as the new administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Of course, each side has a different point of view. Trump supporters believe Pruitt will remove some of what they think are unnecessary environmental regulations that strap the oil …
How One Network Covered EPA Fracking Study
A report by CBS news on an EPA fracking study and drinking water chose to lead with non-scientific claims of residents who contend nearby fracking affected their drinking water in west Texas. Even though the residents admitted they had no scientific proof to document their claims. CBS News correspondent Manuel Bojorquez’s report aired Tuesday and …
EPA’s Six-Year $29 million Study of Fracking and Drinking Water
Six years and $29 million later, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it is unclear whether hydraulic fracturing truly contaminates drinking water as some environmentalists and residents claim. The EPA recently released its six-year long study, stating that in some circumstances, fracking does present a risk to drinking water. But the giant agency also said there …
President Signs Act Formally Adopting Settlement of Water Fight in Oklahoma
When President Obama recently put his name to the WIIN Act, he also formally signed into law the historic water agreement that allows Oklahoma City to have legal access to Sardis Lake for drinking water from the Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes. Although the agreement was reached last summer and announced by Gov. Mary Fallin, it …
OIPA Names Executive Vice President
Tim Wigley has been named executive vice president of the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association. In the position, Wigley will direct the association’s legislative outreach efforts at the state and federal level on behalf of Oklahoma’s independent oil and natural gas industry. Following the 2017 retirement of current OIPA President Mike Terry, Wigley will assume the …
Oklahoma’s Unemployment Rate Sees Slight Improvement
Oklahoma’s jobless rate fell slightly in November, reaching 5.1 percent but it remains a full one percent higher than one year ago according to figures released by the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission. The one-tenth of a percent drop translated into trimming the number of unemployed by 2,000 over the month to an estimated 93,055. But …
Texas is Getting Another Wind Farm
Texas is getting another major wind farm, this time in the far southern reaches of the state in Willacy County. Construction on Bruenning’s Breeze Wind Farm is underway by E.ON. It is E.ON’s 22nd wind farm in the U.S. and the second in Willacy County, Texas. The 228 megawatt farm will consist of 76 …
Iowa Farmers Protest Dakota Access Pipeline
A district judge in Des Moines, Iowa is considering the protests of landowners who contend they were forced by a Texas oil company to allow the firm to build the Dakota Access oil pipeline on their land. Arguments were heard late last week in the lawsuit filed by about a dozen landowners who have challenged …
Pruitt’s Environmental Actions Under Question
One of the topics Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt might have to answer during his confirmation hearing to become Environmental Protection Agency Administrator is why he eliminated the Environmental Protection Unit in his state office six years ago. The subject was raised in a recent Environment and Energy article by reporter Mike Soraghan who noted …
Rig Count Slips in Oklahoma but Grows Nationally
While the oil and gas rig count slipped in Oklahoma in the past week, the count grew by 13 nationwide, according to Houston-based Baker Hughes Company. Oklahoma’s count fell to 78, compared to 86 a year ago. Nationwide, the count added 13 to reach 637 including a dozen more oil rigs and one more …